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Poor cherry crop means little air cargo demand except from Korea

WHAT air cargo action there was flying US cherries to the world this year was in the Pacific Northwest after the worse California harvest in 20 years.

That brought air freighters into the Seattle-Tacoma after a combination of wind, rain and heat zapped the California cherry crop, reports London's Loadstar.

Because of the poor California quality, cherry growers decided to sell the bulk of it domestically rather than risk low overseas returns. This cut out air freight.

In the US market, shorter transit times and lower transport costs improved profitability, said Chris Connell, president of LA-based Commodity Forwarders.

But Japan and Korea are exception and buy high-quality cherries. "They wanted the crop. No question, there was demand," Mr Connell said.

However the Japanese, not liking the quality this year turned it down. But Koreans were keen and most laden cherry freighters out of Seattle headed for Seoul.

Mr Connell expects the activity in Seattle to continue as the US market has had its share of cherries.

With American Fourth of July celebrations come and gone, the US market is going to be flat, he said.

In the past, a big chunk US cherries would go to Europe, especially the UK, but this traffic has diminished over the past five years, as output in the UK has been rising, he said.